Man claims to have made Japanese giant hornet into a lovable pet

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The Japanese giant hornet is quintessential nightmare fuel at about two inches in length, packing a stinger like a quarter-inch hypodermic needle filled with poison. It’s a horrifying creature that you don’t want to be anywhere close to, but one man claims to have captured and “tamed” a giant hornet, because why not do something monumentally foolish and unnecessary? He’s now posting pictures on Twitter of he and his hornet friend hanging out.

The Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica) is the largest hornet species in the world, and it has an attitude to match its sheer scale. These insects are extremely aggressive and produces a potent venom that causes damage to the nervous system of its prey. The insect is also known for injecting large volumes of venom with a single sting, and why not? It’s huge. A single sting can be extremely painful and require hospital treatment in allergic individuals. Any more than 10 usually requires immediate hospitalization and emergency treatment. Giant hornets manage to kill 30 to 40 people in East Asia every year.

With that in mind, we come back to @Mikuru625 on Twitter and his pet hornet. Clearly this man likes to live dangerously as he claims to have caught the hornet with a butterfly net and immobilized it with tweezers for some quick surgery. Just to be clear, they are even aggressive when you’re not hassling them, so I’m pretty sure catching them in a net counts as provoking. The man says he was able to remove the stinger and venom sacs and attach a string as a leash while the insect was immobilized.

For all we know, it might just be a trick using a dead hornet.

Even without its primary weapon, the giant hornet has powerful jaws, which are used for dismembering prey. @Mikuru625 notes that it does still bite him, but it isn’t very painful. Perfect pet, right? Frankly, I’m uncomfortable even knowing the Japanese giant hornet exists.